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Police believe this man, who identified himself as Mitchell Nelson to northern Ontario media, may be whose body washed up on Lake Huron in October. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Klassen, as posted in Soo Today)

Police have renewed requests for the public’s help in identifying a bearded traveller whose body washed ashore near Goderich six weeks ago.

They’re hoping just a tidbit of information might provide the break needed to identify the man, believed to be in his mid-50s, said OPP Const. Jamie Stanley.

Police believe he is the same man interviewed by some journalists as he cycled across northern Ontario towing a canoe.

That man told reporters that his name was Mitchell Nelson, that he was homeless by choice and that he intended to return to London where he had family.

In mid-October, the body of a man, who was wearing a life-jacket, washed ashore on Lake Huron. He matched the description of the cyclist/canoeist, but “Mitchell Nelson” might have been an alias or a partial name.

Stanley said neither the man’s canoe nor his bicycle have been found.

They do know that the man is not Rick Small, a Thunder Bay adventurer whose homemade boat washed ashore in Ireland two weeks ago.

Though police are still trying to find Small — a potential mystery man who, like “Mitchell Nelson,” was slender, bearded and was ­travelling by bicycle — they are not the same person, Stanley said.

Anyone with information should call Huron OPP at 519-524-8314 or 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.